Saturday, June 14, 2014

Saturday Snap Shots: A Hectic Week

It's been a week that feels hectic. Let me record some snapshots:

--What has made it feel most hectic? In a word: work. We had a team down to help us get ready for our mock accreditation visit in August which will help us get ready for the real accreditation visit later in the year.

One of my colleagues speculated that the approach of the full moon made the visit feel more hectic. I said that I thought it would feel hectic if they had come during a new moon. It's not the moon phase, it's the work and the discovering of so much work yet to come.

--I talked to a different colleague who is part of a committee for an MFA student. We talked about his paper. I asked what documentation style the MFA student is using. My colleague said, "Screwed up APA." I said, "I'm familiar with that style." We laughed and laughed.

--I went to the student fashion show last night. I haven't been to one of the big shows since 2008 or so. The last show in 2008 was loud (pounding music) and crowded even though it was in a huge room in the Convention Center. Last night we were in a hotel ballroom, which felt so much more elegant. The clothes were more elegant too. At the 2008 fashion show, I felt distinctly uncomfortable seeing so many of my students so skimpily dressed--barely dressed, in fact. Happily, last night's show had no pornographic elements.

The last time I went to a fashion show, I was with feminist friends, who had plenty to critique. Last night I was with a friend who has a passion for the costuming aspects of fashion, which made the experience vastly different.

And last night, we had front row seats, so I could see the gorgeousness of the fabrics. How I wanted to reach out and touch those fabrics. How I miss having my hands on fabric!

--I was sorting through my Reading Pals bag, and I found a book called Shadows. I have no way to get it to my first grader, as school is out for summer, and we're done with the program. But on Thursday, one of my fellow department directors brought his son to work, and I thought, hey, here's a kid who isn't already too old for this book. When I brought the book in yesterday, my colleague talked about their week-end plans which includes pitching a tent in the back yard.

For a minute, I felt jealous. But my week-end plans include making citronella candles in the back yard, so I'll have fun too. We've spent the week assembling supplies. For all the arts and crafts stores that exist, I have to conclude that there's not much demand down here in South Florida for candle making supplies.

The woman at the vitamin place where we bought the citronella oil said, "Let me know how it turns out. Maybe I'll buy one from you." Of course, if we're not buying supplies in bulk, we'd probably have to charge her $60 for a candle--I'm not exaggerating by much. Why is wax so expensive? For that matter, why is a candle wick so expensive? Now those fancy candles don't seem like such a bad bargain.

But hopefully, having fresher citronella oil in the candle will help with the repelling of mosquitoes. We shall see!

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About Me

A poet, a scholar, an administrator, a wanna-be mystic--always wrestling with the temptation to run away to join an intentional community--but would it be contemplative? social justice oriented? creative? in the mountains? in the inner city?--may as well stay planted and wrestle with these tensions and contradictions here, at the edge of America.